Monday, March 31, 2014

Farm School Spring Series Week Two

Spring has sprung at Farm School.This week found us enjoying a cool, sunny daythat motivated us to tackle a few vital chores.

Our status check on the garden always starts the day.

The kale is coming to the end of its run.It has started to decline with the warmer temperatures,but will be harvested for market as long as possible.

Faye and Lynn have been sampling the banana peppersthat have continued to produce.

The okra that was started a few weeks ago is growing well.As the cool weather crops wane, there are plans to sow many more rows of this heat lover.

The kohlrabi is just about perfect for pickin'.Lynn told me that up north, these are one of the fastest growing crops.With the fluctuation in temperatures here, they take a bit longer.

Tomato Town is exploding with goodies!

These are the Celebrity variety and they will be gracing our table very soon.

Some are already starting to turn color.

Some of the Sweet Millions had to be pulled out due to spider mite infestation.Hopefully, this row will not be affected.

The seed from the arugula that has bolted is being saved.

Fortunately, the lettuce is still going strong,but with temperatures hitting the mid-80's later in the week,its days are numbered.

Our first task was to plant another row of scallion sets.

The sets were sorted, placing the smaller ones to the side for planting today.

We also pulled out any sets that were already sprouting.These are just yearning to grow,so they will be among the first to be planted.Give 'em what they want and they'll repay you tenfold.They will not be denied!

Any of the sets that seemed dry or rotten were tossed,as they are not likely to produce a crop.There weren't too many of those.

This little gem is just longing to kiss that dirt!

Lynn made the holes and then the set gets planted deep into the pot.We featured the whole process here.

Another job that needed doin', was to sow some cucumber seeds.We had attempted to grow them a few months back,but conditions were not favorable and they just didn't do anything.

Lynn had already put up this fencing so that they have somewhere to climb.

The soil was scratched to loosen it up a bit, as the composed soil mix was not used here.This is one of the few crops that will be planted directly in the ground.

A shallow furrow was made...

and seeds were planted about every foot.They were flagged so we know where to expect seedlings to pop up.

Another undertaking was to pull out 4 rows of sugar snap peas that were spent.They weren't producing enough to warrant them staying,and Lynn has plans to put another crop in its place.He still has sugar snaps growing elsewhere in the garden.

Any weeds that were found were removedwhile uprooting the plants from the containers.The vines were pulled from back to front along the baling twine,and then removed from the opening at the ends.It's pretty doggone efficient.

Lynn's considering planting radishes here,as they are a quick crop and sell well at the market.Sometimes the pots need to be topped off with soil, but it wasn't necessary here.

Lynn comes up with all kinds of cool adaptations around The Hill.Here's a handy idea.This path is used frequently by foot and golf cartto access part of the garden.As the hose needs to stay put,he encased it in PVC pipe to aid in its longevity.

He plans to bury it just beneath the soilto ensure it stays put.

These pots are filled with Lynn's soil mixand are awaiting planting.The screen wire on top keeps debris out until planting day.

Wouldya look at this glorious beet?The end where Lynn cuts off the greens is a work of art.They don't taste too bad, either!

This is a turkey oak tree.The color is a vibrant green.

Anyone who has turkeys will recognize this.The tree gets its name from the leaveswhich resemble a turkey's foot.

We're enjoying the comfortable spring weatherand completing projects with ease.Here's hoping that spring has made Her appearance in your garden.Wonder how we got started with this gardening gig?You can read how Farm School started here.